Oilean Foraois
by White Gryphon
Summary: Ash and co. plan to travel to a new island, but are brought way off course due to a powerful thunderstorm while at sea.


Oileán Foraois (Forest Island)  
By Sailor Jupiter Mizutohi  
Began 8/10/2001  
  
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This fanfic will include illustrations. As of yet there are none. By the time I have finished typing the second part to this story, I will also have built a web page to display these images.  
  
Time setting: sometime after the end of Lugia Bakudan, before the start of the Johto League series.  
  
NOTE: I know next to nothing of the Orange Islands League or the Johto League, as my cable system stopped carrying the channel that broadcast Pokémon during the middle of the first season. Please forgive me if I go a little off course with character descriptions. ^^  
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"So, where are we off to next?"  
  
Ash pulled a map from his backpack. Sitting down, he unrolled it and laid it out flat on the ground. Misty sat down on the ground next to Ash, looking at the map. Tracey leaned against a nearby palm tree, watching Ash's pokémon as they played in the sand.  
It had been a few days since the incident involving the Legendary Birds. Ash and his friends stayed with Melody's family to rest and recover, as well as to give their pokémon some time to recuperate from the events that had taken place on Shimouti Island and surrounding island homes of the three Birds.  
The hot summer sun beat down on the three young trainers. They had stopped to regain their bearings at the northern beach of a different island, after they had searched there for a Gym. The town there was too small to have its own Gym, much less a decent training facility. Ash was itching to find a new Gym, as well as a new Gym Leader and a new Badge.  
  
"Ash, you've got to take these things one at a time. There's no sense in crossing your bridges before they're built, y'know."  
"I know! But I've got to be prepared for anything! I'm going to be the World's Greatest Pokémon Master someday, or have you forgotten?"  
Misty sighed.  
"No… I haven't… but you don't have to be a Master today, do you? Would it kill you to take time to plan things out?"  
  
Ash's personal favorite, a small Pikachu with no nickname other than "Pikachu", left off playing with Ash's other pokémon to check and see what its trainer was up to. Over the time Ash had been a trainer, he had become best friends with his starter pokémon, Pikachu. Through its trainer's influence, the Pikachu had become to act more and more like a human and had even begun to take on some of Ash's characteristics, such as his stubbornness.  
Pikachu scampered on all fours over to its trainer, then sat down beside him, also looking at the map.  
  
"Pika pi?"  
"Where would you like to go next, Pikachu?"  
Misty pointed to a place on the map.  
"I don't know anything about this island's Gym… but this one is the closest. This one over here, he uses Rock pokémon, that I know for sure. However, it's much farther away than this one…"  
"It is pretty far… almost off the map. But since we know what kind of pokémon he's using, that's good enough for me! Let's go there!"  
  
Ash got up, picking up the map and placing it back in his backpack. He then called to his other pokémon.  
  
"Hey everyone! We're heading out for Tsuribashi Island!"  
  
All of the pokémon returned to their respective pokéballs except for Ash's Pikachu and Lapras and Misty's Togepi, a small pokémon that still wore its eggshell. After Ash picked up his backpack, he, Pikachu, Misty, and Tracey walked over and climbed upon the back of the large water pokémon, Misty carrying her Togepi. Given the command to Surf, the Lapras turned and swam out to sea, carrying the trainers and pokémon on its back.  
Little did they know what they were in for once they had gone far out of range from civilization…  
  
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"Maybe going this way wasn't such a good idea… we should have left after dark so we could tell where we were going by the stars."  
"If it were dark, we wouldn't be able to see the compass."  
"Pika pika."  
"Maybe one of us should've gotten new batteries for the flashlight."  
"You don't have to rub it in, Misty."  
  
The gentle waves lapped against the sides of the Lapras as it paused in the water. Ash was looking at the map again.  
  
"I can't tell how far we are from Tsuribashi… or Valencia… I don't even know if we're on the map anymore. I don't see any markers."  
  
Ash looked up and surveyed his surroundings. While they had been out to sea, the clouds had blown in and covered the sky, blocking out the sunlight. Every now and then a cold wind blew against them.  
He saw no buoys or markers stationed out in the water to mark their position with. Another thing that bothered him was that they had not seen any type of wild pokémon to denote any marked habitats, which were also shown on the map.  
  
"Guys… I think we're lost."  
"Pika pi…"  
  
Ash's Pikachu nuzzled up against its trainer. It was getting scared also. Ash's Lapras gave a moan; it had no idea where they were either. Misty's Togepi withdrew inside its eggshell and whimpered.  
  
"What're we gonna do now? We're not even within cell phone range."  
"Yeah, like any of us remembered to recharge the batteries in the phone anyway."  
"You don't have to rub it in, Ash!"  
Tracey sighed and looked up at the graying sky.  
"Looks like it's about to rain… Hey! Do you think any of our pokémon can tell direction?"  
"Good idea, Tracey! Why didn't I think of that in the first place?"  
  
Misty pulled a pokéball from her pack, then threw it out into the water. The ball split open, releasing a scarlet glow, which then resolved into the form of Misty's Starmie. The large starshape pokémon turned to face its trainer.  
  
"Starmie! Help us find the nearest island!"  
  
The Starmie tipped one of its appendages in response, then turned and started swimming away from them towards the horizon.  
  
"Lapras, follow Starmie!"  
  
At Ash's command, the Lapras began to splash after Misty's Starmie.  
  
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After several hours of traveling on the open ocean, it had begun to rain on the trainers and their pokémon. Ash, Pikachu, Misty, her Togepi, and Tracey huddled together, chilled by the falling raindrops. They had nothing to keep the rain off them except for their backpacks, which they held over them as the Lapras and Starmie continued en route for the nearest area of dry land.  
  
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The clouds grew darker and darker as time wore on. In the absence of the warmth of the sun, the ocean's surface became colder and colder. The falling rain felt like it had turned to ice. Aside from this transformation, the rain was falling more heavily, limiting visibility. All around them was a dark gray curtain. Below them, the cobalt water was becoming rougher as the winds blew the waves around.  
Misty's Starmie, every so often, had to stop and turn back to find the others. The three trainers and pokémon were getting soaked, as were the packs they were using for cover.  
  
"Misty?"  
"Yeah, Ash?"  
"I'm beginning to think… this wasn't such a good idea."  
"I agree. We should have tried a closer island…"  
"Pika pi… pika chu!"  
"I'm sure we'll get somewhere… if not Tsuribashi…"  
"I hope our pokémon can handle it… if weather doesn't get much worse…"  
"Hey, do you guys hear something?"  
  
At Tracey's words, Ash and Misty stopped and perked their ears.  
  
"Just rain falling…"  
"What do you hear?"  
"It sounds like roaring… it's getting louder…"  
  
Everyone stopped to hear again. Indeed there was a sound similar to roaring; it was coming from all directions, breaking off at odd intervals, as if they were surrounded by a huge pack of angry Gyarados. However, they were unable to see anything through the thick sheets of freezing rain.  
All of a sudden, they all saw it. A large dark area was forming in the dimness in front of them, growing larger and darker. It was too late before they had even realized what it was.  
A gigantic tidal wave rose before them. It was like the ocean was climbing up into the sky, taking everything on its surface with it. The Starmie was the first to go; it was swept up and thrown down into the dark depths. The Lapras tried to turn and resist the powerful current, however, gravity didn't pull it as fast as the water did…  
  
The last thing Ash remembered was the wave's shadow as it rapidly swept over him, like a demonic blanket of night…  
  
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"Ash…. Ash… Can you hear me?"  
  
At the sound of Misty's voice, Ash opened his eyes. He found himself coughing and gagging as water spilled from his mouth. Turning over onto his stomach and getting up on his hands and knees, he vomited into the water, then resumed coughing. He felt a hand on his back, rubbing him just below his shoulder blades.  
  
"Thank goodness… you're alright…"  
  
Ash gasped for air, then turned and sat back down. He was sitting on the back of his Lapras, along with Misty, her Togepi, Pikachu, and Tracey, who lay on his stomach, apparently unconscious. Pikachu was also lying down, but only because it was tired. The Togepi was cuddled close to its trainer. It was still raining, although not as heavy as before. The ocean's surface was much calmer.  
  
"Is… Is everyone all right? What happened to Tracey?"  
"I don't know… He must have fallen off when the Lapras went over the crest. I was knocked out too. I think Lapras and Starmie had to dive under to get us. I don't know how we all got out alive."  
  
Ash looked down at his Pikachu, which was lying on its back, its breathing ragged. Ash took his pokémon up in his arms, holding it while leaning forward to keep the rain from falling on its prone body.  
  
"Poor Pikachu… I hope we find land soon…"  
  
Misty went over to attend to Tracey, who was starting to come around. She dragged him over to the Lapras's side so that the water gushing from his mouth went out into the ocean.  
As Ash thought about their lost backpacks and supplies, he looked up and noticed Misty's Starmie, which was still bobbing in the water. It was motioning at him with one of its limbs.  
  
"Hey Misty, I think your Starmie found something!"  
  
Misty looked up from Tracey, who was still coughing up a stomachful of salt water. Watching her Starmie, her face brightened.  
  
"Starmie's found land! Starmie, lead us to it!"  
  
Nodding with another of its limbs, the Starmie turned and headed off again. The Lapras also turned and began following it again. Ash and Misty could both see a dark spot in the distance, which drew closer and more distinguishable with their approach…  
  
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It began to rain more heavily, limiting their visibility once again as the day began to fall into night. The large dark object was almost lost to their vision. The Starmie continued swimming in a fixed direction, since it still knew where the land was by use of its psychic abilities. The Lapras wearily drove on, carrying the three trainers and pokémon on the back of its thick shell. Tracey was leaning back against the Lapras's strong neck, fast asleep. Ash and Misty stayed awake to keep watch. Ash's Pikachu slept in its trainer's arms, as did the Togepi in Misty's. All were chilled to the bone from the freezing rain.  
As they approached the distant landmass, they passed through fields of jagged rock that stood up out of the ocean's surface. Some of these rocks looked like they had been carved to look like certain water pokémon; the Lapras passed very close to a rock that resembled a huge serpentine creature with a long snout and antlers. Some of these statues had been eroded from the waves beating against them. Ash saw one that looked like a Gyarados with its mouth missing, then another that was a Slowbro with no head. In the dim light, these statues almost seemed to be the real thing.  
After a few minutes, the Lapras touched bottom. Ash, Misty, Pikachu, and Tracey (with some help from Ash and Misty) climbed off the back of the Lapras, standing waist-deep in the cold seawater. Ash called his Lapras back into its pokéball, then, while carrying his sleeping Pikachu, waded with the others towards the shore. Misty joined them, carrying the frightened Togepi in her arms, after she recalled her Starmie.  
They could see shapes in the background, which upon closer approach turned out to be more jagged rocks, this time sticking up out of a flat area of dirty gray sand, forming a high wall. They looked up and down the beach; through what they could see, there was nothing but sand and rocks in both directions.  
  
"Hello there! You three!"  
  
They all turned in surprise at the sound of a feminine voice. There, standing in the rain by the high rocks, was a girl with long red hair, wearing a dress that came down to her ankles. She was holding a lantern in her left hand and something white in her right hand. She didn't seem to notice the rain falling on her.  
  
"Come on, follow me! You must be soaking wet."  
  
With that, the girl turned and walked toward the high rocks. An opening had appeared in the wall that none of them had noticed before. Saving their questions for later, the three trainers followed the red-haired girl through the opening and into a dark cavern, which was lit solely by the girl's small lantern.  
  
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End file.
